Meghalaya’s famous Shillong Chamber Choir will mesmerize audiences this upcoming Republic Day for defence personnel in Shillong.
The musical extravaganza is being organized by the Headquarter 101 Area at the Shillong Cantonment from 5 in the evening.
To commemorate the 69th Republic Day, Shillong Chamber Choir will pay tribute to the soldiers.
“The conduct of the event, the first by the choir, has been facilitated by 101 Area, general-officer commanding, Lieutenant General DS Ahuja,” Defence PRO, Lieutenant Colonel Suneet Newton said in a statement.
Around 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers and their families from the Army, Air Force, Assam Rifles and Central Armed Police Forces are expected to come to the event.
Shillong Chamber Choir made its debut at Pinewood Hotel in Shillong, dubbed as the rock capital of India on 14 and 15 January 2001, with Neil Nongkynrih, a concert pianist as their conductor. They have continued performing ever since both in the country and abroad.
Nongkynrih studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Trinity College, London. He worked as a concert pianist for 13 years in Europe before returning to Shillong to start the choir with local youths.
Today, the choir has 25 members including 15 singers, apart from Nongkynrih. The choir’s repertoire includes western chorals and Hindi classics including Handel, Bach, Gershwin and Mozart, from hits by rock group Queen, and Khasi folk songs and opera.
Over the years, the Shillong Chamber Choir has performed in Britain, Poland, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Italy, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Guwahati.
The group had also performed for former US President Barack Obama during his official visit to New Delhi on November 8, 2010.